The Feldberg (1493m above sea level) is the highest mountain in the Black Forest, Germany. The Felderg Mountain is located in the south-west of Germany, about 25 km south-east of the city of Freiburg.

Photo on the right: The Feldberg summit on the left side, on the right side the Seebuck foothill with the lookout tower.

A cableway runs from the car park at the Haus der Natur (House of Nature) to the Seebuck foothill. Incidentally, the cableway is operated as a 6-seater chair lift in winter. The actual summit of the Feldberg is reached from the upper terminus via a 2km footpath. There are several sign-posted hiking trails leading round the summit area with a walking time of between 30 minutes and 3 hours, from which you can enjoy the beauty of the landscape in its entirety and the magnificent views in every imaginable direction.

Ascend the Feldberg Tower and you can let your eyes wander even further into the countryside. However, you have a lovely uninterrupted view even without ascending the tower because there are no trees in the summit area.

The Feldberg is centre of the biggest skiing area in the Black Forest. Usually from November to April thousands of skiers use the 14 ski-lifts and downhills of all categories.

A very special event took place once again this year in the small community of Dachsberg in the southern Black Forest: the Dachsberger Charcoal Pile Festival. The charcoal pile at the forest sports ground in the district of Wolpadingen smoked from the 25th July to the 9th August 2009, and a great deal of entertainment was on offer at the same time.

The Markgräfler Bergturnfest gymnastic festival and the jubilee weekend of the Dachsberg traditional costume band with its regional music festival had already taken place on the first two weekends. The climax was the folklore day on Sunday the 9th of August with plenty of music, a national park market and demonstrations of old Black Forest handicraft trades. The charcoal pile will be opened on 21st/22nd August, and the charcoal offered for sale on 22nd August.

In the Dachsberg charcoal pile, charcoal is produced in the traditional manner from approximately 20 steres (cubic metres) of beechwood in approx. 4 weeks (2 weeks just for cooling). The charcoal stack is watched around the clock by the charburners during this time (the shelter can be seen on the left in the top picture, the charburner is clearing the smoke holes in the bottom picture). The charburners also enjoy answering visitors' questions and providing expert information about the composition of the charcoal pile and the history of charcoal burning in the Black Forest.

Charcoal burning was an important industry in the Black Forest for a long time. The charcoal was mainly required for ironworks and glass manufacture. Increasingly larger quantities were needed, which meant that vast areas of the Black Forest were bare and not covered by dense forest as they are today. Coal was increasingly used in industry from the 18th century, so that the trees grew back and the forest could recover.